Pop Trash
Pop Trash is the tenth studio album by Duran Duran, released by Hollywood Records on 19 June 2000. About the album The album marked Duran Duran's first release not under Capitol/EMI, with whom they'd been signed since 1981. It was also the last to feature the trio of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Warren Cuccurullo. The band left Capitol in 1998 and signed with Hollywood Records, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Vocalist and lyricist Le Bon, increasingly unhappy with the band's situation and the departure of bassist John Taylor, was suffering from a severe case of writer's block during the making of this album. Keyboard player Rhodes and guitarist Cuccurullo took on more of the songwriting than usual, reworking some of their TV Mania side project material into some of the songs on the album. Pop Trash continues where Medazzaland (1997) left off; pop, funk, and electronica fused together, with many layers of production. The album is probably one of Duran Duran's most diverse, with songs like "Lava Lamp" including flanged drums and intricate guitars, the catty "Mars Meets Venus" and bizarre "Hallucinating Elvis" full of manufactured bounce, while gentle pop ballad "Someone Else Not Me" featured few effects at all. Heavy guitar pieces like "Last Day on Earth" and "Playing With Uranium" are juxtaposed with softer songs filled with delicate melancholy, like "Lady Xanax" and "The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever". This album was poorly promoted and did not sell well, although the supporting concert tour sold out at almost all venues, including a week-long stint at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. In March 2001, the band announced they had parted ways with Hollywood Records; Nick Rhodes said "Never was there a place that felt less like a record company: Seven giant dwarves hold up the building. You're listening to these people, and finally I had to say, 'How funny that your corporate logo is a large pair of ears, yet not one of you in here happens to have any.' " Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Still Pretty", Rolling Stone. Apr 21, 2005. At the conclusion of the supporting tour for this album, Cuccurullo was dismissed, and the band reunited with its original five members. The album artwork features a rhinestone-encrusted car which belonged to Liberace. Critical reception Critics were generally unexcited by the album. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone''Sheffield, Rob. "[http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/94569/pop_trash Review: ''Pop Trash], Rolling Stone, August 17, 2000. said: The well-named Pop Trash shows off their jaded hooks and nasty wit; it's for fans only, but those of us who still crumple at the opening hiccups of "Hungry Like the Wolf" will be glad for another fix. Stacia Proefrock of All Music GuideProefrock, Stacia. "[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fypzefrk1gf2 Review: Pop Trash]", All Music Guide, August 17, 2000. said: Some of the smooth, spacy ballads that were characteristic of their 1993 self-titled release show up here, but more often than not Le Bon is lost in a swamp of overproduction. Completely absent from this music was the aggressiveness and sexuality that made early Duran Duran great -- kinder, gentler records could probably be expected from the band as they age, but this album feels careless and flabby instead of introspective. Singles The songs "Someone Else Not Me" and "Playing With Uranium" were released as singles in Germany only. "Last Day on Earth" was released in Japan; it was also played during the opening of the Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka. Track listing #"Someone Else Not Me" - 4:48 #"Lava Lamp" - 3:54 #"Playing With Uranium" - 3:51 #"Hallucinating Elvis" - 5:26 #"Starting to Remember" - 2:38 #"Pop Trash Movie" - 4:54 #"Fragment" - 0:49 #"Mars Meets Venus" - 3:07 #"Lady Xanax" - 4:53 #"The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever" - 4:51 #"Kiss Goodbye" - 0:41 #"Last Day on Earth" - 4:27 Bonus tracks on various international releases: #"Un Autre Que Moi" ("Someone Else Not Me" en Français) - 4:19 #"Alguien Más Que No Soy Yo" ("Someone Else Not Me" en Español) - 4:16 #"Prototypes" - 6:17 Singles #"Someone Else Not Me" (Germany only) #"Playing With Uranium" (Germany only) #"Last Day on Earth" (Japan only) Personnel Duran Duran are: *Simon Le Bon - vocals *Warren Cuccurullo - guitar *Nick Rhodes - keyboards With: *Wes Wehmiller - bass guitar *John Tonks - drums (tracks: 1 to 5, 9, 13, 14), electric percussion (track: 8) *Steve Alexander - drums (tracks: 6, 10, 12) *Gregg Bissonette - drums (track: 8) *Luis Conte - percussion (tracks: 2, 4, 6) *Sally Boyden - backing vocals (track: 8) *Guy Farley - piano (track: 5) Also credited: *Produced by TV Mania in association with SYN Productions *Engineered by Mark Tinley and Ken Scott *Assistant Engineer - Matt Silva, Rob Hoffman *Additional logic audio tweakage - Rico Petrillo *Programming by Mark Tinley *Mastered by Brian Gardner *Mixes by Chris Lord-Alge, Ken Scott and TV Mania *String arranged by David Campbell (tracks: 1, 6, 10, 13, 14) *Art direction by Duran Duran and Andrew Day *Photography by Andrew Day and Katrin Geilhausen See also *Discography 4: Pop Trash *Duran Duran discography References Category:Duran Duran albums Category:Pop Trash